Description:
Solar activity varies with an 11 year cycle that can affect us in many ways. For example, the atmospheric drag on satellites in low Earth orbit can increase during these periods of increased activity, shortening the lifetime of these valuable commercial and scientific instruments.
There is also some evidence for a connection between Earth’s climate and solar activity.
The Wolf number, derived by counting groups of sunspots on the sun’s surface and their multiplicity, is an important measure of solar activity.

Description:
Students can contribute to scientific research by using the web tool or the Android app to analyse images of the sun taken by the TAD solar telescope in order to determine the Wolf number. Being at the maximum of the current solar cycle makes this the perfect time to study solar activity through observations of sunspots. Results from students and citizen scientists will be stored in the project data base and will form the basis for future scientific research.

Description:
This collection of activities is based on a series of space science problems related to the Sun intended for students looking for additional challenges in the mathematics and physical sciences curriculum in secondary school. They are also suitable for use in first year university Introductory Astronomy courses. The problems present aspects of modern science and engineering, often involving actual research data. The problems and solutions are presented in a popular compact form.